Lately I've had houses of the 1920s on my mind and have been discussing such with my friend Things That Inspire. What makes them so desirable? How have they been able to stand the test of time? Why are architects talking about referencing these homes for inspiration in these modest times?

Given the popular response to my More Cleverly Conceived post (a circa 1929 house), I thought I'd cover another beautiful Atlanta home from the same time period. It will be clear after seeing this house what makes the 1920s such a special time in architecture. By the way, this home also happens to have been featured in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles in the December 2008 issue. The article focused on the interior, styled specifically for Christmas. Here you'll see a more complete view of the home, both interior and exterior.

This is one of my absolute favorite homes in Atlanta. I've been mesmerized by its every detail since discovering it last summer when it was on the market. I got to explore it a couple times in person and have even had the fortune of discussing specific details with project architect Rodolfo Castro, a Summerour & Associates alum and rising talent in Atlanta (if you don't know of him, you will).

The home was actually a renovation. The owners purchased it and enlisted Summerour & Associates for the makeover with Rodolfo Castro heading the architecture and Yvonne R. McFadden and Ed Belding sharing responsibility for the interiors. Seeing the photos above will give you an idea of how dramatic of an effect the Summerour team imparted.

This home takes your breath away the moment you drive up to it. The first thing you notice is the impeccable landscaping that is matched so deftly to the style of the home. You also notice the luxurious use of limestone for the walkway and door and window surrounds. How about that Greek pithari urn and copper lantern as well?

As you walk in through the front door, the judge paneled room is to the left, the stairs leading to the home's four bedrooms upstairs is straight ahead and to the right is the formal living room. The home elegantly showcases a neutral palette (my favorite). Linen was used copiously to soften the transitional interior. You can see the linen in several places including on the custom sconce shades, the furniture slip covers, and the curtains.

This house is a marble lover's dream. Calcutta Gold and Carrera marble are spread throughout. A detail you'll notice here is the dark stained windows and doors. Every exterior and interior door in the home is made of solid mahogany and stained a dark Jacobean color to match the floors. No expense was spared in crafting this masterpiece.

From the back of the kitchen you can go 3 ways, all of which will leave you utterly satisfied. To the left is the screened in porch. Those in Atlanta might recognize the picture of the porch as it graced the cover of the venerable Beacham Series real estate magazine a few issues back.

Make a right out of the back of the kitchen and you'll end up in the great room. And great it is. This is an entertainer's seventh heaven. The paneled wall reveals a glamorous bar with very thin mirrored tile backsplash. Above the contemporary Chesney's fireplace the wall opens to expose the large flat screen television. Notice the speakers in the ceiling too. The whole house is wired for sound.

Straight back from the kitchen through the French doors leads you to the lush backyard complete with an infinity edge pool and outdoor fireplace.

Just as you were about to catch your breath, here we go again. I know, this is a long post, but a house this amazing is a rare find and justifies the length. Above is the stairway leading to the 2nd story with four bedrooms. The judge's paneling on the walls is carried up the stairs from the entry. Above the stairs a sky light was added to shower light into the area. The subtle, yet captivating, detail in the iron railing is a testament to Rodolfo Castro's genius.

Above is the master bedroom with it's French doors flanking the rear of the house. Outside the doors is a Juliette balcony affording a view of the pool. If you enlarge the picture, you'll notice some architectural wizardry. The ceilings in the 2nd floor bedrooms were cleverly raised by adding gradual vaulting. The ceilings are covered in shiplap-style paneling to give the room added texture. A unique rounded molding was used on the ceilings, windows and doors.

Here is a quick glance of the master bathroom. Every bathroom and the kitchen were furnished with Waterworks fixtures. And of course, my favorite tub, also is from Waterworks.

To end our journey I'll leave you with the recently completed basement. When I viewed the home the basement was still under renovation so I was quite pleased when I saw these photos. The steel window, the limed wood, the faucet out of the wall. I'm speechless.

I hope you enjoyed this most special house. Believe it or not, I didn't show you everything this house has to offer. On top of that it's only roughly 4,000 square feet in size. I think this is a perfect example of 1920s grandeur and what so many are striving to recreate today.

I encourage you to enlarge each of the photos in this post by clicking on them and soak in all the beauty.

A special thank you goes out to Blayne Beacham, the talented photographer responsible for capturing this home's beauty. She was generous enough to share her photos with me so I could share them with you. If you haven't already, I recommend visiting her new blog: This Photographer's Life.

One last thing - this amazing home is back on the market. If you've fallen in love with it like me, it could be yours. The home is listed with Nancy Meister at Beacham & Company.

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comments:

WOW. I love just about everything in this house. What a fantastic find. The color palette is neutral but not boring. (though, I might want to warm up the basement with a little terracotta color/glaze on the walls?? Off to check the listing and dream.

I'm LOVIN' everything about this house....wouldn't change anything...also love the simplicity of the interiors.We're adding a new master bath to our old 1800's home (will be featured in my blog soon). I've priced the beautiful silver tubs like the Waterworks one you showed. Brooke from Velvet and Linen gave me another great resource for tubs b/c she has one in their home, featured on her blog. Unfortunately, they're still out of my price range, so we'll do a white freestanding tub(which i love also). Also love the front facade of this house(lighting choice, urn, door, window styles, limestone surround, etc.) just simply beautiful!!Thanks for sharing and have a Merry Christmas!Jeanettejvw home

What a beautiful, beautiful profile. I love the way you described everything. Before this post, this home was in my top three all time favorite houses in Atlanta, but through your eyes it may have moved to number 1. I know it's a finny thing to love, but I adore the coffered (sp?) walls in the little room to the left when you walk in, and then echoed in the main staircase. I think this is a Summerour trademark, as I have seen it in many of his homes. As you mentioned, this was the cover home we used for our fall issue of 2008. We used it because of the warmth of the fireplace and the scale and simplicity of the porch. It was between that photo and the photo of the bathroom, which is literally breathtaking to see in person. I cannot thank you enough for profiling this amazing home. Cant wait to check back and see the comments.-Blayne

Wow, thanks. I'd be happy with just the urn. I like the not quite symmetrical facade with the wall making a little courtyard. I love the lantern on the post. But I like the old front with the terrace walls too.

I can't figure out the master BR ceiling but it's a breath of fresh air from tray ceilings.

I'd call the house elegant, understated, tasteful gonzo: something subtly special everywhere I look. The family room paneling - like a flattened out dome interior - may be gonzo. What is that fixture above the tub. Must study enlarged pictures.

I remember seeing this home in your flickr photos earlier this year, but to see it again through your post and the professional photos by Blayne was amazing! I can't believe it is only 4000 sf. Is that just first and second floor? I know that architects often do not count the basement finished space when talking about overall square footage. Rodolfo did a wonderful job on this house, and I agree he is one to watch in the Atlanta architecture scene.

I appreciate the time and effort that went into crafting this post...I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Hi James...thanks for a great post. Love that entry way w/ Grecian urn, the dark floors and edged windows. Marble backsplash all the way to the ceiling....wow. Love the bit of roughness the urn adds, the bench at the foot of the bed. Could probably use a bit more opposing roughness to the sleekness. But, that said, I love it. Thanks. Trish

This home is exquisite! It has the best of both worlds. Original 1920's architecture combined with a thoughtful and elegant renovation. It doesn't get any better! I think you would love my recent posts about a historic home in the SF Bay Area built in 1928. I found 2 sets of original hand drawn blueprints from 1925 done by the architectural firm of Williams & Wastell who are listed in the register of historic places in California. They are breathtaking and speak to what you are drawn to in this beautiful home.What is truly remarkable about these gems built in the 1920's is their relatively small size. You can find them at ladolfina.blogspot.com under "A home of historic proportions" & "A treasure of historic importance". I think you, of anyone, will thoroughly enjoy them! Happy Holidays!

This is an unbelievably beautiful house. It is just stunning. That screened in area! The garden! The bathroom! Everything! I'm still blown away at all the beautiful houses I'm seeing in Atlanta. It's definitely my kind of place!